


the dangers of rainbow road

by lesmiserablol



Series: Our Get Along Shirt [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Gen, Mario Kart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24946624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: Katara and Zuko are forced into wearing a "Our Get Along Shirt" after a Mario Kart tournament gets heated, and Katara learns a secret that Zuko has been keeping from her.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Our Get Along Shirt [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808308
Comments: 38
Kudos: 832





	the dangers of rainbow road

“This is stupid,” Katara scoffs. 

Zuko isn't sure how she wants him to respond to that, so he lets out a neutral hum, shifting a little so the kitchen counter they are leaning against doesn’t dig into his lower back as much. 

Katara has her arms crossed in front of her. Well, that’s what she was going for. Due to the oversized shirt that they are both squeezed into, complete with the words “Our Get Along Shirt” labeled on the front, she can only do it with one arm sticking through the sleeve and the other hidden beneath the fabric. She is doing her best not to touch Zuko with that arm. 

It doesn’t work because they’re, well...sharing a shirt. 

“How long do we have to do this?” she asks. 

Zuko turns his head to look at the clock displayed above the stove. “Five more minutes.” He hears a cheer from the living room. “I wonder who is winning at Mario Kart now.”

“Well, without the two of us there, hopefully Aang and Sokka are finally getting a decent chance,” Katara smirks. Zuko lets out a small laugh, but when he glances to the right toward her, she’s scowling again. 

“Listen, I’m sorry I started shouting at you,” he says quietly. “It’s just - you know how it is. Rainbow road and all. I was tense.” 

Katara nods slowly, resigned. “Yeah, I get it. Apology accepted.”  Zuko waits a few more moments, and sure enough, she sighs. “I’m also sorry. I got a little too angry out there. Truce?”

Zuko smiles in relief. He always hates getting on Katara’s bad side, even more so now that he has had some recent realizations concerning his best friend, who happens to be her brother. “Truce.”

Katara pulls at the collar digging into her neck. “We apologized!” she shouts in the direction of the living room. “Let us out now!”

Zuko winces from the volume, and they wait a few moments before the door opens and Toph is standing in the kitchen, smiling too sweetly. 

“The deal was ten minutes in the get along shirt, we’ll let you out when it’s time. Have fun! Not too much fun. Kissing is permitted.” 

She jumps out and slams the door shut before she can fall subject to a violent, yet warranted, attack from her two friends. Katara shouts in frustration and Zuko swears he can hear Toph’s laughter from the other side of the door. 

“This is so stupid!” She turns to face Zuko, her face serious. “We are not kissing.”

“Don’t worry,” he rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t want to kiss you.”

Her eyes widen, offended. “Excuse me?”

Zuko internally kicks himself. Why doesn’t he think things through when he is forced to be in such close proximity to her? Katara is his friend, but that hasn’t always been the case, and he’s reminded of that every time their tempers get the best of them. 

“It’s not - no! It’s nothing personal. I’m just. You know,” he trails off, not looking at her. 

She sighs. “Right, of course. It’s impossible to forget you’re gay when you’re wearing a Fall Out Boy shirt.”

“Hey, it’s a good shirt. Sokka gave it to me,” he defends. 

“Of course he did. I bet you’d rather be stuck in this dumb shirt with him, wouldn’t you? Then there would be some kissing.” She laughs at her own joke, rolling her eyes. 

Zuko bites his lip shut. He is a terrible liar, he knows this for a fact, so he settles with not saying anything. At his silence, Katara looks over at him and takes in his panicked eyes avoiding eye contact and his pale face. 

“Zuko?” she asks slowly. “Would you rather be stuck in this shirt with Sokka?”

“Well, I mean...maybe? I wouldn’t be opposed? Since I...have had a crush on him. For a few months now?” he says, voice small and still avoiding direct eye contact. In the corner of his eye, he sees her jaw drop and he feels her entire body stiffen next to his. 

“You WHAT?” she asks, and Zuko regrets everything that led to this moment. He’s never playing Mario Kart again. He’s never arguing with Katara again. He's moving to a new city and changing his name, maybe something like Lee, that sounds like a good plan.

His instincts kick in and he starts running for the door, and Katara has no choice but to follow, shouting the whole time. They crash through the open doorway and fall on top of each other on the floor of the living room. The video game is paused and their friends turn curiously to see Zuko scrambling to get away from Katara and Katara spouting a stream of nonsense at him, both of them still stuck in the shirt. 

Sokka and Aang are howling with laughter, Toph is shaking her head and smiling, and Suki is taking a video, capturing the moment that the shirt rips. Zuko stares at it in surprise before looking up at the equally shocked Katara. She quickly recovers and Zuko’s eyes widen as he stumbles toward the front door. 

“HEY!” Katara yells, following him. “WE NEED TO TALK!”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr! I have a [main blog](https://lesmiserablol.tumblr.com/) and an [Avatar the Last Airbender blog](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
